The Journey To Xadia(An Alternative Version Of The Dragon Prince)
by Lifirisas23
Summary: This story begins immediately after the last episode of Season 1. None of the events of the official season 2 have happened in this version of the story.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"It hatched?!" That was the first thing that Claudia said as she and Soren materialized in front of Callum, Rayla, Lujanne, Ellis and Zym, still standing at the summit of the Cursed Caldera.

"Yes, captain obvious, it hatched", said Soren, "it doesn't take a genius to realize that." Ignoring him, Claudia ran up to the baby dragon and embraced it.

"Its so cute!", Claudia said, "I mean, it's a super dangerous, powerful weapon but-" At the same time, she and Soren looked up and noticed Rayla who was standing in front of them, smirking.

Claudia chanted a spell, freezing Rayla in place as Soren ran towards her, his sword held in position to make a killing blow.

"No!", Callum and Ezran yelled in unison.

"Frozio lunaris!", Lujanne shouted, gesturing towards the moon then towards Soren. A beam of moonlight shot from the sky and struck him in his back, freezing him in place.

"What did you do to him?!", Claudia asked angrily.

"Nothing you should worry about", Lujanne said, "All I did was use a spell to temporarily freeze your friends brain functioning in place."

"You WHAT?!", Claudia shouted.

"In a few hours, he will be back to normal with no lasting injury or trauma", Lujanne said, "like I said, it's nothing you should worry about." With difficulty, Claudia forced herself to turn her attention to Callum, Ezran, Rayla, Ellis and Zym. The storm dragon had just started to chase Bait around in circles.

"Callum and Ezran", Claudia said, trying to keep her voice steady, "step away from the elves. I can handle them. You'll be safe soon." Her hands filled with black fire.

"Claudia", Callum said, "let me explain."

"What do you mean let me explain?!", Claudia asked, "she's a moonshadow elf. She'll kill you!"

"No", Rayla said, "they're my friends, I would never try to kill them."

"Well.."

"That doesn't count!", Rayla cried."

"If that's true, then why have you kidnapped them?", Claudia asked.

"She didn't kidnap us", Ezran said, "we decided to-" He was cut off by a soft zapping sound coming behind him. Ezran looked down to see Zym standing over Bait, licking him, causing small electric shocks to hit his body. Bait grumbled unhappily. Smiling, Ezran picked the glow toad up, away from Zym's reach.

"Perhaps we should talk about this over dinner", said Lujanne, "it is getting late."

"Dinner sounds great!", said Ellis. Claudia glared at Lujanne and Rayla for a full ten seconds.

"Alright", she said, suddenly smiling. As they walked towards the long outdoor tables in the distance, Claudia narrowed her eyes at Rayla and Lujanne.

"One wrong move Elves and I swear to Plaxian, I will do whatever it takes to finish you off", she muttered.

Authors Note: Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As Callum approached the long wooden dining tables, he noticed a change in the environment. The tables, the grassy field that they stood on and the odd gazebo like structures in the distance were bathed in silvery light. Upon glancing at the sky, Callum found out why. The moon appeared magnified to three times it's normal size and it glowed with the same light that covered the summit of the Cursed Caldera.

"Lujanne", Callum asked, "what's happening to the moon?"

"Oh", Lujanne said, "that's just the Moon Nexus recharging. See the colors in the distance?" She pointed to a place in the horizon where the glow was at it's most intense. "That's the Moon Nexus", she said, "it supplies Moonshadow Elves with their powers and it fuels our cities and our ecosystem." Upon hearing this, Claudia had developed a strange look in her eyes.

"I would really like to see that", she said.

"I'm afraid you cannot", said Lujanne, "to protect the Nexus, the high mages of the moon have cast a powerful enchantment that will cause any human who tries to enter to hit an invisible wall that cannot be penetrated, even by the abomination that you call magic."

"Abomination!?", Claudia cried indignantly. Her hands filled again with black fire. Lujanne waved her hands, causing a wide variety of food to appear on the tables.

"Who's hungry?", she asked. Immediately, Claudia brightened. She extinguished the fire in her hands and she sat down next to Callum. Bait, Zym, Ava and the bird like creature that Lujanne rode on earlier walked over to five large bowls and began to eat.

"This is amazing!", Ezran cried, taking a large bite of a jelly tart, "you have to tell me your secret."

"Oh..you really want to know?", Lujanne said.

"Yes!", said Ezran.

"See what Phoe-Phoe is eating?", she asked, pointing to the large bowl of worms that the strange bird like creature ate out of.

"Were eating that?", Ellis asked.

"Yes", Lujanne said, smiling, "all I do is disguise the worms with illusions to make them look and taste great. Don't worry", she said, noticing Rayla and Callum's horrified expressions, "they are completely safe for both human and elf consumption."

"Callum", Claudia said, "why are you traveling with an elf?"

"Were going to Xadia to return the egg of the dragon prince", said Callum, "we hope that returning what was stolen to the elves would cause the fighting between us to stop."

"Here's the problem", Claudia said, "my dad, Viren, told me to take the egg and bring it back to him and my dad gets really mad at me if I don't obey him so.."

"You are not taking the dragon with you", Rayla said.

"I don't think you understood me", said Claudia, "I am taking the dragon back to Katolis and I'm not going to let anyone stop me!"

"Claudia?", asked Ezran.

"Yeah?", asked Claudia, "what is it Ezran?"

"If you take Zym back to Katolis and allow your dad to do whatever he wants to him, how do you know that the elves will never find out? Also, did you ever think about what might happen if we made peace with the elves? We could be allowed back into Xadia. We could be able to live without fear and we wouldn't need to spend so much of our time and resources in attacking and striking back against the elves for the different things they do to us. I know you don't like elves..no offense Rayla"

"Ezran", Rayla said sarcastically, "why would I ever take offense at something like that?

"My point is that sometimes, in situations like these, you have to put humanity as a whole over your own interests. So what if Viren gets angry at you for a little while if it results in better lives for humans in the end?" asked Ezran. Claudia sat in silence for the entirety of three minutes, thinking.

"Alright", Claudia said, sighing, "i'll let you return the dragon, just promise me that the elves won't use it to destroy the human race or anything like that."

"I promise", said Rayla, "we would never return a gesture of peace with an act of violence. The elves of Xadia are not monsters." Claudia nodded.

"After I finish eating this amazing peice of pie, I'm gonna take Soren and bring him back to Katolis", she said, "maybe I can explain things to my dad."

Authors note: _Please Review_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"That was amazing", Claudia said as she put down her fork, "you're a really talented mage Lujanne."

"Thanks", she said, cautiously.

"Of course", said Claudia, "if you've used just a little bit of dark magic, your illusions would have tasted even better."

"No", said Lujanne, "unlike humans, elves live in respect of the natural world. We don't kill other living things and use them for our own gain!"

"Your too judgemental, _pointy ears_!", Claudia cried. Rayla gasped, recognizing the offensive slur. Her hand moved to the hilt of her blade. Almost imperceptibly, Lujanne shook her head stopping Rayla from drawing her weapon.

"Don't use those words Claudia", Callum said. Claudia stared at him with confusion clearly visible on her face for a full ten seconds.

"Sorry", she said, "I'm just not used to spending so much time with Elves. Anyway, I really don't want to be here much longer", said Claudia, "i'm gonna take Soren and go back to Katolis. I need to tell my dad about the new situation." She stood up and started to walk in the direction of her frozen brother, who stood a hundred feet away. As she walked away, Callum felt a sudden pang of longing in his chest.

"Claudia!", Callum called after her, "wait!" She stopped and turned her head.

"Yeah?", she asked.

"I need to tell you something", he said, suddenly feeling very anxious, "I've known you for a very long time and there's always been something I wanted you to know."

"What's that?", Claudia asked.

"Claudia", Callum said, "I-I'm.." He gulped. "I'm happy that your my friend."

Claudia smiled, "thanks Callum", she said. As she walked away, Callum groaned in frustration as Ezran stared at him sympathetically.

"So", Rayla said, "you're proud to be friends with someone who's fine with saying, "pointy ears" to my face?"

"It's complicated", said Callum, "I've known Claudia for years. I can't start hating her just because of a couple words."

"That's fine", Rayla said, "anyway, what Claudia said is nothing compared to some of the things I've heard elves say about humans so I can't be too offended by it."

"What?", Callum asked, "what kind of -"

"Relax", said Rayla, "when we get to Xadia and return The Dragon Prince to his family, we'll cause the fighting between our species to stop and when that happens, I guarantee that these terrible things will stop being said."

"Rayla", said Ezran, "are you sure that returning Zym to his mother will be enough to completely change an entire species feelings about humans?"

"First of all", Rayla said, "I never said that all elves hate humans. Second, I don't think we can change the feelings of literally every elf on the planet. However, we can -"

"I'm sorry to interrupt this wonderful discussion", Lujanne said, "but it's getting really late and even powerful moon mages like myself need to sleep. Unfortunately, I can't leave you in the middle of the moon nexus on your own. I'll take you to the guest rooms."

"You have guest rooms?", asked Ellis.

"I do", said Lujanne, "usually, I don't have many guests since almost everyone gets scared off by my illusions but occasionally, I get Xadian visitors and there have been humans that made it to the summit before although you three are the first in almost a hundred years." Ezran walked over to Bait to pick him up. He looked down and saw his glow toad snuggled up next to Zym, fast asleep. He picked up Bait and put him in his bag. As Lujanne lead the group in the direction of the gazebo like structures, Zym followed behind.

Authors Note: _Thank you for reading! Please review! The next chapter will be from Virens perspective. _


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

As Viren stood in the laboratory that once held the stolen dragon egg, holding the coin containing Runnan, he felt no remorse. As he crushed a piece of the elfs horn over the coin and chanted another spell, he felt no remorse. As he tossed the coin into his mouth, swallowing it, he felt no remorse. Viren remembered the time when he was a little kid and his village was completely destroyed by elves. As the images of buildings getting burnt to the ground flashed through his head, he started to feel the effects of the spell kick in.

Viren felt an immense surge of energy and power shoot through him. He felt his body changing shape, becoming thinner and taller and he felt two horns protruding from his head. Looking in a mirror, Viren saw that the spell had worked. Smiling with satisfaction, he walked over to the door and opened it to come face to face with Soren and Claudia. They both gasped when they saw their fathers new appearance. "Dad", Claudia said, "what did you do?"

"I just put our Moonshadow Elf prisoner to good use", Viren said.

"You fused yourself with the elf?", Claudia asked, "do you have any idea how much suffering that ritual puts the subject through?"

"It's all worth it,'' said Viren, "I must do whatever it takes to defeat the forces of Xadia and take back our homeland."

"You've gone too far", Claudia said angrily, "Elves may be foul, evil, bloodthirsty creatures but they don't deserve to experience the things you put that elf through!"

"Claudia", Soren said, "I think-" Claudia glared at him, her eyes full of fire.

"I think you have a point", Soren said, "I might not know anything about magic but I do care about you and I can see that Dad's transformation is bothering you a lot." A look of annoyance flashed across Viren's face.

"I thought you two would be more understanding", said Viren, "I thought that you were as prepared as I am to do what's right."

"What you're doing isn't right", Claudia said.

"I don't want to hear any more about it!", Viren said, "now, do you have the dragon egg?"

"The dragon hatched", said Claudia, "and I don't have it. I decided to leave it with the Elf."

"What?!", yelled Viren.

"Ezran told me something that really changed my way of thinking", said Claudia, "now I know that returning the egg as a gesture of peace would be a much better thing to do then going to war with Xadia."

"You were wrong to make that decision", said Viren, "I will give you one more chance to prove your not a traitor. I want you to help me gather the surviving citizens of Tianlo village and bring them to the castle so I can give them the power to stand a chance against the forces of Xadia."

"_etaerc a llaw",_ Claudia chanted, crushing the shell of an insect between her fingers. Five feet away from where she, Soren and her father stood, a magical forcefield appeared out of thin air. Noticing the forcefield, Viren's expression turned ominous.

"Remove the forcefield Claudia", he said.

"I will not", said Claudia, "Soren, get out of here. You'll be able to pass through the forcefield since you don't know dark magic."

"I'm not leaving you!", Soren said. Yelling in anger, Viren shot a bolt of dark energy from the tip of his staff.

"_hctac!",_ Claudia yelled. She caught the bolt of energy in her hands and threw it back towards her father. Viren swatted the bolt away with his staff.

Authors Note: _Please review! _


	5. Chapter 5

Claudia started to chant. As she chanted, bolts of dark electricity shot from her fingertips toward her father. "Kcolb", Viren said. He spun his staff, deflecting every single bolt. Viren chanted a short spell and thrust his hands toward Claudia. Chains of smoke wrapped around her arms.

"Stay out of my way,'' said Viren. He turned to walk away. Yelling in frustration, Claudia broke the chains and pushed her hands through the air. A block of force flew toward her father, hitting him in the back and pushing him to the ground, where he landed in a heap. Viren felt a sharp pain shoot through his palms and he knew that two large cuts had just opened up on his hands.

Claudia gasped. "Dad!?", she asked, "are you OK? I didn't mean-"

"You've just made..", Viren said as he shakily got to his feet, "a terrible mistake." He snapped his fingers, healing both of the cuts on his hands before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small red and black horn. Upon seeing the horn, Claudia's heart sank for she recognized that it came from an Elven phoenix, one of the most powerful magical creatures in the world. She knew that Virens next spell would be impossible to block and extremely hard to undo. Viren crushed the horn in his hand and shouted a spell. Instantly, Claudia felt every bone in her body freeze in place. She watched helplessly as her father reached into his pocket and pulled out a small golden coin.

"_Ruoy Luos Si Enim" _Viren said as he lifted his staff into the air. With a flash of light, Claudia disappeared, reappearing inside the coin. Viren turned his gaze to Soren, who was frozen in place, paralyzed with shock and horror. He pulled out another coin and repeated the same spell. Viren placed the coins containing his two children on an empty shelf. "I apologize for having to do this to you,'' he said, "my plans need to succeed and I can't have anyone standing in my way. After I've taken Xadia, I'll let you two go. But first, there's something you need to know. Your not actually trapped inside coins. The series of rooms you are currently standing in is a small portion of The Purgatorial Maze, a Xadian prison. The coins are simply portals that allow humans to access this prison. The most dangerous criminals are trapped in an area of the Maze which lies beyond the mirror that I took from the dragons so you don't need to worry about them. I do suggest that you keep your guard up though since you are in close proximity to many elves and magical creatures who don't like humans at all. I trust that you'll be able to defend yourself from them."

He ran out of the room, moving at three times the speed of a normal human. He leaped into the air, jumped off a wall and landed on his feet, breaking into a run almost immediately after his feet touched the ground. It took Viren a lot of willpower to not cry out with exuberance. The feeling of energy and adrenaline flowing through his body was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. He was so caught up in the sensation of his newfound agility and reflexes that he didn't notice two people walking behind him.

"Viren", one of them said. Viren whirled around to come face to face with Gren and Amaya. Upon seeing his face, Amaya glared at him. "_What have you done?", _she signed.

"What have you done?", Gren asked, interpreting for Aamaya.

"I combined my soul with the Moonshadow elf prisoner", said Viren, "I plan on fusing the citizens of Tianlo village with Moonshadow elves so I can have a whole army of people that can stand a chance against the forces of Xadia. I am going to use this army to conquer Xadia, kill the president of the elves and destroy the current dragon king and queen. Amaya, I know you hate elves just as much as me. Are you willing to do the right thing and help me see my plans become a reality?"

Viren watched as Amaya signed her response. "No", said Gren, "I agree that our banishment from Xadia was a horrible crime that should not go unpunished. However, what your doing crosses the line. I don't know much about dark magic but I do know how inhumane that ritual you used is. Also, killing the rulers of Xadia will fix nothing. It will just make the elves and dragons hate us even more then they already do and they will strike back against us in the future."

"How can they strike back if their forces are completely wiped out?", asked Viren, "if the elves refuse to surrender to us, I will destroy the entire capitol city of the elves and kill every single being in the Xadian military and government." Amaya gasped. "_We will stop you." _Gren reiterated this message to Viren.

"I'd like to see you try", Viren said.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day, Callum woke from an uneasy sleep. Throughout the night, he had experienced visions of his father being cut down by Moonshadow Elves in multiple different ways. He silently reassured himself that his dad was probably still alive as he walked over to the bed in which Ezran lay fast asleep with Bait and Zym by his side. Judging by the sounds coming from outside, Callum could tell that Lujanne, Ellis and Rayla were already awake.

"Ezran", Callum said, "it's time to get up."

Ezrans eyes shot open. "Callum", he said, "I think I had a bad dream."

"You..you did?", Callum asked. He felt a pit of nervousness inside his stomach. "Ezran, I can reassure you that-"

"A giant jelly tart came to life and chased me around the castle,'' said Ezran, "he was angry at me. He said that I ate his children."

Callum breathed a sigh of relief. "Its OK Ezran", he said, "jelly tarts can't come to life. Maybe you should think of this dream as a sign that you need to eat healthier."

"Yeah, mabye", said Ezran, "Callum, I've been thinking about something."

"Yes?", asked Callum.

"So far, we've been traveling without that many people trying to stop us. Yeah, Claudia kind of did but we were able to talk her out of it quickly and there was that mob of humans but they never bothered us after we left the borders of that town. I'm afraid of something terrible happening that would completely prevent us from restoring peace."

"Nothings gonna happen,'' said Callum, "come on, let's get some breakfast." He, Ezran, Zym and Bait walked outside, into a small garden covered in silver strands of grass and strange looking plants. In the middle of the garden stood a circular table. Rayla and Ellis sat in front of plates of food, engaged in conversation as Lujanne stood to the side, stroking Phoe Phoes feathers.

"I've already told you", said Rayla, "we don't eat bread because, in Xadia, the plants that you humans get grain from do not gr-oh, good morning Callum." She looked away from Ellis and met Callums eyes.

"Hi Rayla", said Callum.

"Did you sleep OK?", asked Rayla.

"Yeah", said Callum.

"Good!", Rayla said, "we've got a long journey ahead of us. Were leaving."

"Already?", asked Callum, "we were only here for one night." He and Ezran sat down and helped themselves to some illusion food.

"What else were you expecting to do here?", Rayla asked.

"I was hoping to learn how to use primal magic, without a primal stone", said Callum. He looked at Lujanne who shook her head sadly.

"Theoretically, humans can learn primal magic without a stone", Lujanne said, "but it has never been done since no human has ever managed to form a connection to a primal source although hundreds have tried."

"Then i'll just get a new primal stone", said Callum.

"You can't,'' said Lujanne, "the only primal stones that belong to humans are under the possession of the high mages of the human kingdoms and their apprentices. I know for a fact that they arent willing to give up their sources of power to anyone. Also, primal stones are very difficult to make and there aren't any humans alive that know how. The only living beings that know how to make primal stones are elves who would never agree to give a human more magical power."

"Then I'm gonna be the first human to connect to an arcanum", Callum said defiantly. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. "Even if I manage to connect to a primal source before we reach Xadia, I won't be that much use in combat since I only know two spells."

" I could teach you some sword fighting,'' offered Rayla.

"Soren tried to teach me swordfighting for six months and I learned nothing", said Callum.

"I've been trained in combat since I was old enough to lift a sword,'' said Rayla, "I bet I can do a way better job teaching you then any human could. Before we continue on our journey, I can give you a couple days of training."

"Alright", said Callum.

"While you do that, I'm gonna teach Zym how to fly" said Ezran.

"Yeah, I don't think you'll have much luck with that,'' said Rayla.

"Its worth a try,'' responded Ezran. He put his fork down and got up.

"Come on Zym", Ezran said. He walked away with Zym following close behind. Callum and Rayla finished their food and left the table, walking in the direction of a circular stone plateau that rose above the summit of the Cursed Caldera. Upon entering the plateau, Rayla handed Callum one of her swords.

"Stand directly across from me", she said. Callum did as she asked. "Alright", said Rayla, "let's get started." She ran toward Callum, her blade pointed directly toward his chest.

Authors note: Please Review!


	7. Chapter 7

Hundreds Of Years Ago:

_"As you all know, tomorrow marks the conclusion of a crucial election season. If you vote for me, I will pass an executive order making it illegal for humans to set foot in the land of Xadia!" Ornald Emptur paused to allow an uproar of applause from the croud. "As you know", Ornald continued, "humans use dark magic, an insidious corruption of the primal sources thats been given to them by my opponent, Aaravos." The croud booed. "Using dark magic, humans have killed sixteen dragons. They have driven several species to near extinction and they have destroyed so much of the natural world that we all love. It's only a matter of time before they come after us!" _Aaravos watched this from the comfort of the central living room in his mansion. His home was located in the center of Sky City, cloaked from view and magically enchanted to change its location every fifty six seconds. "_My opponent wishes to give humans the right to vote, which will allow them to elect leaders who are sympathetic to them, and who don't think dark magic is such a bad thing! My opponent is going to allow humans to use dark magic, unchecked!" _

As Aaravos heard Ornald fire off attack after attack on his policies and character while barely mentioning his own plans for Xadia, he felt nothing but exhaustion. For the past six years, he had been campaigning on a platform of equality for all and through some intense persuasion, he was able to convince enough elves and dragons to take his side for him to become the frontrunner of the progressive party.

He knew the truth about dark magic. He knew that the killing of dragons was a series of isolated incidents and that, in a world when their needs are completely ignored by the government, humans would have gone extinct without the help of magic. Also, he knew that the idea that humans drove many species to near extinction was a strong exaggeration. Aaravos walked out of his mansion into the fields behind his house. These fields shone with a silvery glow emanating from the blades of moongrass covering the ground. The magical barrier surrounding the field made it look like it was night while in reality, it was mid morning. A Lunar Eagle stood next to a circular pond, drinking from it. Upon noticing Aaravos, the eagle stopped drinking and moved it's head to face him, Aaravos mounted the eagle and rode toward the Dragonlands Amphitheater for his final campaign rally.

Aaravos sat in the large central room of the Meridian Citadel next to the sixteen Elves and Moon Titans that tried and failed to get nominated. In front of them was a PrimalVision screen that was turned to a news station which would begin to show the results of the election in a few minutes. Next to the central room was a large hall where the winner and loser of the election were to give speeches once the results were fully announced.

He saw the door of the central room and Ornald Emptur walked in. He wore ornate green and gold robes. Circles of diamonds and flecks of gold covered his horns and on his face, his markings glowed with a silvery light. He looked angry. "Do you know what you've done!?" He asked as he stormed over to Aaravos.

"No" said Aaravos, "I don't know what you're talking about." Ornald gestured at the Primal Vision screen. On it, a sunfire elf dressed in a black suit sat behind a desk.

"Breaking news, three skywing elves have been found dead. Nelson Thompson, a human, has confessed to using dark magic to commit the murders He says that he was inspired by Aaravoses rhetoric. This should affect the outcome of the election in Ornalds favor." Ornald shut off the Primal Vision. He looked at Aaravos.

"It's an isolated incident!", Aaravos said defiantly.

"That doesn't matter", said Ornald, "the blood of those elves is on your hands and thanks to you, humans are now able to murder elves and use their powers to perform perverse rituals on us. Humans need to be-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt", said a Moon Titan, "but don't you think you should save this for later? The election broadcast is about to start." Ornald nodded. He turned on the PrimalVision which now showed an enormous map of Xadia, divided into twenty four districts. He and Aaravos sat down and watched as the first election results came in.

"The next President of Xadia will be Ornald Eldur, winning by over twenty thousand votes!" Aaravos wasn't generally an overly emotional elf, but at this moment, he felt waves of horror course through his body. Ornalds smug look of satisfaction and the sympathetic looks from the other members of the Progressive Party didn't make him feel any better.

The doors at the front of the room slid open to reveal the stage where the concession and acceptance speeches were to be given. Aaravos saw members of the PrimalVision and SourceNet media standing on the stage, waiting for them. Twelve Startouch elves dressed in OrderCorps uniforms stood He walked with Ornald onto the stage. As Ornald approached the microphone, two thousand spectators cheered.

As Aaravos listened to the acceptance speech, he grew angrier and angrier. He thought about his promises to protect humans from harm and how none of them will be fuffiled.

"-and now, Aaravos will give his concession speech", said the moderator.

"I will not", said Aaravos into the microphone. He moved his hands through the air.

"_Fulminis!"_ he cried. A massive bolt of lightning shot toward Ornald. One of the OrderCorps snatched the bolt of lightning out of the air and crushed it in her hand. She drew the symbol for paralyzing electricity. Arcs of white light shot toward Aaravos. He summoned a shied of moon energy that caused the arcs of light to dissipate.

Yelling in anger, Aaravos summoned a massive wall of fire and shot it toward both Ornald and the member of the Ordercorps that attacked him. She flicked her hands through the air and a towering wave appeared out of nowhere. The wall of fire slammed against the wave. Most of it dissipated but the top layer of flames was able to fly over the wave and crash down on Ornald and the Ordercorps elf, knocking them both to the ground.

Ornald got up unharmed since the fire got absorbed into the element proof chest plate that he wore under his robes. The Ordercorps agent wasn't so lucky. The fire had blasted a hole straight through her chest.

It took thirty minutes and all twelve Ordercorps agents to eventually take Aaravos down. Five of them lay face down on the stage, dead. Ornald stood over Aaravoses bound and paralyzed body looking horrified. He had a large burn on his arm but otherwise, he was fine "Aaravos, you are under arrest for attempting to murder me and for killing five servant's of justice", said Ornald. In Xadia, the president had the power to make arrests under very specific circumstances.

"I should banish you along with those humans you love so much,'' said Ornald, "but they don't deserve to have someone as powerful as you helping them survive. A death sentence would be too merciful. I don't know why all Startouch elves go to Utopia regardless of how they acted in life, but I do know that you don't deserve such a reward. I'm gonna put you in the Purgatorial Maze where you will spend the rest of eternity."

The Order Corps agents stood around Aaravos and started to chant. A swirling black vortex slowly started to form. As Aaravos felt himself getting absorbed into the vortex, he only had one thought in his mind. "_It might take a hundred years, it might take a thousand years but someday, I will break out and I will have revenge against the leaders of Xadia."_

_Authors Note: Thank you for reading my latest chapter. Please leave a review and keep an eye out for the next chapter. _


	8. Chapter 8

"How was that?", Callum asked. He had just demonstrated a very clumsy disarming strike, only barely knocking Raylas sword out of her hands.

"Do you want the truth?", Rayla asked. Callum nodded.

"It was terrible,'' she said bluntly, "your form was completely off." Callum groaned.

"You've only been training for three days Callum,'' said Rayla, "this isn't one of those PrimalVision actments where after a three minute montage you can become an expert swordsman. This is real life and it takes time to learn these moves."

"This isn't one of those Prima what?", Callum asked.

"Never mind", said Rayla. Suddenly, Lujanne, Ezran, Ellis and Ava came running into the clearing.

"You have to leave. Now!", Lujanne cried.

"Wny?", Rayla asked.

"A horrific dark magic ritual has just been completed. We call it the, "_Kara Eret." _ It's when a human combines his or her soul with that of an Elf or a Dragon to gain that Elf or Dragons powers. Whenever this ritual is performed, every Moonshadow Elf can feel it. Luckily, we don't receive the intense pain that the victim of the ritual feels but what we feel is still strong enough to bring us all to attention. My point is, Xadia is in danger and if you don't return Zym as soon as possible, there may never be peace between our two species."

"What do you mean, Xadia is in danger?", Rayla asked.

"With the power of the Moonshadow Elves, humans can be evenly matched in a fight against us. If this ritual is done for enough humans, the one who performed it will have a strong enough army to conquer Xadia. Therefore, you must leave immediately." Rayla nodded.

"I'm gonna stay here", said Ellis.

"Aren't your parents worried about you?", asked Lujanne, "or do human parents lack empathy for their children?"

"Human parents have plenty of empathy", Ellis said, "mine just let me go wherever I want. They trust me!" Lujanne frowned, thinking there must be more to the story. She made a silent decision to go and investigate later that day.

"Phoe Phoe will take you to the wall,'' said Lujanne, "after that, your on your own. Good luck." Rayla, Callum and Ezran mounted the Moon Phoenix's back. Zym sat perched on Ezrans shoulder and Bait just managed to squeeze himself next to Ezrans feet. Lujanne shouted a command word in a language that Callum couldn't understand and Phoe Phoe started to flap her wings, lifting into the mid afternoon sky.

As they flew, Callum tried to think about Claudia in order to calm his nerves. He tried to conjure up pictures of her in his mind but instead, he ended up thinking about the elf that he spent so many weeks with. He thought of how fierce and brave she always acts while simultaneously being able to express vulnerabilities and empathy. As he had these thoughts, Callum felt a confusing feeling in his chest. "_Snap out of it", _Callum thought, "_she's not even human! How can I possibly have feelings for an elf?"_

Viren:

In a massive clearing behind Tianlo village, Viren stood in front of the hundred volunteers, examining them. The mirror was placed to his right, along with a case of medicinal potions. "Do not be afraid", said Viren, "after I finish this ritual, you will have the strength, speed and reflexes of an elf. You will be eavenly matched against Xadias armies."

"You plan on defeating Xadia with only a hundered soldiers?", one of Virens recruits asked.

"No", Viren said, "I have already gone to five other villages and performed this ritual on several hundred volunteers. After I put you through this, our numbers will near a thousand."

"I understand", said the recruit. Smiling with satisfaction, Viren lifted his staff into the air and started to chant. The mirror glowed with white light. Arcs of this light shot toward each of the hundred volunteers, hitting each one of them. When the light subsided, Viren caught his reflection in the mirror and grimaced. He saw his once handsome face covered in jagged black scars. His eyes, nose and mouth appeared blurred and distorted and a white streak shot through his hair. Viren wrenched his gaze away from his reflection and looked at the croud of volunteers. His spell had worked. Each one of them looked more or less like he did after his own ritual.

"Citizens of Tianlo village", he said, "you will find that you will now have the speed and reflexes of an elf along with the knowledge of how to use them. Head toward the gardens behind the castle to await further instructions." Viren watched with satisfaction as the group of volunteers launched themselves into the air, jumping from tree to tree at incredible speeds.

In twenty minutes, Viren was standing in front of the crowd of newly transformed humans in the castle gardens, his inspirational speech ready. "People of the five human kingdoms", he said, "for too long, we have been forced to live in this inferior land with less food, less natural resources and harsher weather conditions while the races of elves, dragons and magical creatures get to live a life without hardships and suffering in the lands that rightfully belong to us. A long time ago, humanity faced extinction due to the insidious policy of neglect that the elven government held. We were lifted from this horrible state when Aaravos showed us how to use dark magic, the ability that is every humans birthright! For our use of this ability, we were expelled from our homes, forced to walk for hundreds of miles. By the time we got to the lands in which we now live, half of us lay dead, either at the hands of one of the elves who used violence to keep us moving along or by exhaustion. Xadias bigotry will remain unanswered no longer. Our king has been killed by a group of the most vile of pointy ears, Moonshadow Elves! We must respond. Today is the day that we take back our homes in Xadia! Today is the day that we bring the Xadian armies to their knees! Today is the day that we reclaim what's rightfully ours. People of the human kingdoms, the night has come to an end and a new day starts now!" The crowd of humans cheered. Once the applause died down, Viren began the long task of directing them into formation. Some mounted horses while others had none, choosing to travel by using the heavily enhanced strength, agility and speed that all elves possess. Viren stood in front of the army, his entire body cloaked in the glowing light of a speed and agility enhancement spell. "For humanity!" Viren cried. With that, the entire army surged forward, moving across the land at breakneck speeds.

Aamaya and Gren stood in front of a large group of castle guards from the five human kingdoms. "We are too late to stop Viren from leaving. But we must do everything we can to minimize the damage he does to Xadia. He has gone way too far and he needs to be stopped. Corvus has been left to guard the throne of Katolis along with the remaining protectors of the castle. For those of you from other kingdoms, there are plenty more men and women that stand guarding the thrones at this moment. Therefore, you have no reason to worry about the fact that you are leaving your posts. All your energy needs to be focused on the mission! It's time for us to make things right." Gren and Aamaya mounted their horses and the entire group of castle guards began to move in the direction of Xadia.

Authors Note: Sorry this took so long! Please review.


	9. Chapter 9

As Phoe Phoe carried Callum, Rayla, Zym and Ezran over the outlying agricultural lands of the human kingdoms, it became more and more difficult for Callum to contain his excitement. "I can't beleive I'm actually going to see Xadia!", he said, "humans haven't seen it in hundreds of years. Can you tell us a little bit about what it's like?" He directed this question to Rayla. She smiled at his enthusiasm.

"Well, I'll put it like this. Imagine one of your human cities.."

"Yeah!?", Callum asked.

"And picture all the buildings about twenty times bigger."

"That's it?", Callum asked.

"Of course not", Rayla said, "that's just how the cities look. There's also the Firefang caves and mountains of the dragons, the vast forests of shadow and spark, the oceans of storm and so many more."

That sounds amazing", said Ezran, "I cant wait to tell dad about it!" Upon hearing this, Rayla looked away, an expression of shame upon her face. "What's wrong?", Ezran asked.

"Ezran", Rayla said, "there's something i-"

"Phoe Phoe, watch out!", Ezran cried. The lunar eagle swerved to the right, just barely avoiding a volley of arrows that flew through the sky straight toward them. Callum looked down to see nine hundred heavily armed humans standing below, staring straight up at them. They shot another wave of arrows toward Phoe Phoe, who once again, just barely avoided them.

"Can you explain this!?", Rayla asked, gesturing at the crowd of humans.

"Well", Callum said, "that's Viren." He pointed at the man leading the army as Phoe Phoe deflected the next wave of arrows with a mighty flap of her wings. "It looks like he used that dark ritual Lujanne was talking about. All those humans are going to be a serious threat when they reach Xadia", he said.

"Alright", Rayla responded as Zym blasted the next round of arrows to bits with a bolt of lightning, "there's one thing I can do to get us out of this. But it's gonna take a lot of my energy to do it."

"That doesn't matter", said Callum as a bolt of deadly moonlight just barely missed them. Rayla nodded. She closed her eyes and begin to chant. At she shot open her eyes, they begin to glow with the light of the moon. As she spoke the final word of the spell, a column of moonlight shot from the sky and struck, enveloping Phoe Phoe and her riders in blinding white light.

"Hold on tight!" Rayla cried, "Velocia Addeum!" Phoe Phoe shot forward, moving so fast that Callums surroundings became blurred. Fifteen seconds later, the lunar eagle came to a sudden stop. Instantly, Callum could hear Ezran throwing up behind him. He felt close to doing the same. "Oh yeah", said Rayla, "I forgot. Equalibria Stabalisis!" Instantly, Callum and Ezrans nausea faded away.

"You could have warned us Rayla!", said Callum.

"It's not my fault that humans have such unstable digestive systems", she responded indignantly, "elves and dragons can withstand the G forces of enhanced magical speed."

"And that's a great example for why this divide between elves and humans needs to end,'' said Callum, "you guys are born with amazing abilities and we are born with nothing. Therefore, we need to live together so we can help each other. Well, mainly so you can help us but I'm sure we can come up with something we can do in return."

"Let's finish our mission first,'' said Rayla, "we can figure that out later."

"Agreed", said Callum. He looked into the distance and saw a red glow getting closer and closer. "It looks like we're almost at the border. Are you sure we won't get shot down?"

"Yes", said Rayla, "at this distance, the guards won't be able to see you clearly enough to tell if your a human or an Elf and even when they do see you, they won't dare risk the life of the magical creature we ride on." They were now riding over the river of lava, a vast sea of red liquid with an enormous wall in the distance that cast a shadow over the entire area. Callum could see small figures walking across the top of the wall and a larger figure that flew over them.

"Is that the new king of the dragons?", asked Callum, pointing at the larger figure.

"Yeah. He's called Sol Regem", said Rayla, " convincing him to let a human into Xadia will be really hard, even if that human is travelling with the dragon queen's son."

"No problem!", said Callum, "Rayla, do you know any illusion magic?"

"A little", Rayla said, "but Callum, your not seriously thinking-?"

"Make me look like a Moonshadow elf", said Callum, "it's the only way."

Rayla sighed."Morphea Lunar!", "she said, drawing a symbol in the air. Instantly, Callum could feel his body changing shape, his fifth finger disappearing and two horns sprouting from the top of his head.

"Hello, fellow elves. Elven fellows", Callum said in a bad British accent, "I sure do love hanging out in the forest and blaming others for things they didn't do. And what's up with these hands? How can I even grab-"

"No", said Rayla, "your not doing that. I'm going to explain our situation to the king of the dragons and your going to say nothing. Now Ezran, I'm gonna need to give you a disguise too." Ezran nodded and Rayla gave him an elven disguise. At that moment, Phoe Phoe swooped down from the sky and landed on the narrow strip of rocky shore next to the towering border wall. Instantly, Sol Regem landed in front of them, blocking their path forward. He was twice the size of an ordinary dragon with a wingspan of eight feet, a fifteen foot long red and gold scale covered body and a half circle of stone on his face, marking him as king.

"How are you still alive!?", Sol Regem asked, noticing Rayla, "I thought all the assassins were killed in the battle against the forces of Katolis."

"I wasn't part of the battle,'' said Rayla, "that's because I found someone special. Someone that will end this awful state of conflict between elves and humans." She picked up Zym and showed him to Sol Regem. Upon seeing the dragon prince, Sol Regems eyes widened."My son,'' he said, "I thought I lost you forever." He lowered his head, touching it to Zym in an affectionate way. Zym yipped happily.

"Go to the presidential palace,'' said Sol Regem, "from there, you will have access to the summit of Blazing Gale Mountain where me and my wife live. Show her Azymondias. Show her that there is no need for war. I hate to be without my child any longer but the borders need me. I give you access to Xadia but I don't know about those two that stand behind you. Who are they?"

"Greetings lord of the dragons", said Callum in his Moonshadow elf accent, "I am Moonbeam, a Moonshadow elf. For no apparent reason, I've only got four fingers, I hate humans for irrational reasons and I think nature is super cool! Also, what's up with these horns? This is moon..y, another moonshadow elf who's definatly not just a human in disguise." Callum gestured at Ezran and Sol Regem examined them for a long time. "Alright, I grant all of you passage into Xadia", he said. The dragon king lifted into the air and gave a signal. Suddenly, the portion of the wall that Callum, Rayla and Ezran stood in front of began to open, revealing the land beyond.


	10. Chapter 10

If you like this fanfiction so far and are interested in checking out some of my other work, please type in Musicplex23 on Pandora, where I have a song posted there. Thank you to everyone who followed, reviewed and checked out this story.


	11. Chapter 11

The Xadian border wall opened to reveal an enormous field that a winding path cut through, leading toward a point on the horizon which Callum couldn't see. To his left and to his right, he noticed that other paths stretched across the field too, leading toward different points on the horizon and that he and Rayla seemed to be standing on the most central path. "This leads to the capitol city,'' said Rayla, "it's only a short walk." She lead Callum, Ezran, Zym and Bait through the field. As they walked, Callum noticed small creatures living among the trees and grass. These creatures looked like spherical balls of fur with faces. "Rayla", he asked, pointing to the strange looking animals, "what are those."

"These little guys?", Rayla asked, picking one up, "we call them spherical furs."

"Pretty on the nose, don't you think?", Callum asked.

"They don't have noses", said Rayla, "so, no." They continued down the path and eventually, the skyline of the capitol came into view. The sight of it took Callum's breath away. Buildings shot into the air, ten times taller than any building that can be seen in Katolis. Above those buildings, streams of color danced across the sky, colliding with and bouncing off each other. Small glass boxes shot up and down the outside of the buildings and towering over this entire skyline was a massive palace on a hill.

"Pretty impressive right?", Rayla asked, smirking slightly at Callums expression.

"I've never seen anything like this", said Callum, "how did you get the buildings to be so tall? What are the colors in the sky. What-"

"No time now", said Rayla, "we have to keep moving."

"Yeah. You have a point", Callum said.

"Do they have a good bakery in the city?", asked Ezran.

"Yeah", said Rayla, "why?"

"Because I haven't eaten a jelly tart in days and I'm starving", said Ezran

"Jelly tarts are human food", said Rayla, "you won't find any in Xadia." Ezran sighed dramatically.

"Alright", he said, "I'll settle for some moonberry flavored food then." They continued down the path and soon enough the passed through the entrance of the city. Callum and Ezran have always heard that there was magic everywhere in the land of Xadia, and as they walked down the streets of the capitol city of the Moonshadow elves, they could see that the things they heard were true. The sidewalks beneath them pulsed with glowing moon energy. The glass boxes that shot across, up and down the tall buildings lining the street traveled on barely visible beams of moonlight. Callum could now see that the colors that moved across the sky stood for each primal source and he noticed that instead of trees lining the street, strange looking plants shot to the sky that circular Xadian fruit grew from. Ezran picked one of those fruits and immediately, another one materialized in it's place. Elves and other magical creatures walked down the street alongside Ezran, Rayla and Callum. They took no notice of them and they didn't notice Zym either since Rayla cast a camouflage glamour on him as to avoid unwanted attention.

"Rayla", said Callum, "why is everyone here acting like this is just a normal day and there's no approaching threat? I thought Lujanne said that every moonshadow elf can feel it whenever someone does that thing that Viren did."

"They felt it", Rayla said, "and they know that something terrible might happen soon but we citizens of Xadia have a tradition of refusing to panic no matter what, and going about our days without disruption. Also, there's an enchantment placed on everyone that lives in the Capitol city who aren't part of the guard or the military that will transport them to a safe place if the city is attacked. So, that helps."

"Really?" Callum asked, "I thought all elves have these warlike and battle ready personalities."

"Oh, we do", said Rayla as she lead the group down a side street, "it's just that president Sundimater is able to tell the difference between feeling battle ready and being battle ready. She doesn't want poorly trained civilians being put at risk. You know, we're born with enhanced reflexes and agility but that doesn't make us automatically know how to fight."

"Got it", said Callum, "Ezran, are you OK?" He said this, noticing how Ezran just started to walk with slow and plodding steps.

"Yeah", Ezran said, "I'm just tired. We've been walking for a long time."

"Up ahead is mid-city Square where there's a Beamtravel stop", said Rayla, "we can take that."

"Before we do, can you please use a spell to prevent nausea?" Callum asked.

"Alright", said Rayla. As they walked closer to the square, Callum could hear the sound of music growing louder. Upon reaching the end of the side street, he was able to find out the source of the sound.

In the middle of the square was a rectangular stage which a medium sized croud surrounded. On the stage stood four elves, holding unusual looking instruments and one elf holding no instruments at all. Each elf was dressed similarly to Rayla but each of them wore ornate looking robes over their clothes and different pieces of jewelry on their horns and ears. One elf sat at a thin, flat rectangular board, another elf hit circular pads with sticks and two of them played unusual looking guitars. The elf who held no instrument at all sung, his vocals magically magnified. Above them was a banner with the name "Of Monsters And Men" written on it.

"_I heard them calling in the distance/so I packed my things and ran/far away from all the trouble/that I've caused with my two hands/alone we traveled on/with nothing but a shadow/we fled from far away", _the elf sang. Callum watched in interest as both the male elf and the female elf holding the guitar traded vocals back and forth. "_Hold Your Horses Now/We Sleep Until The Sun Goes Down/Through the woods we ran/Deep into the mountain sound.." _

Callum was amazed by what he heard. The human kingdoms didn't have much musical variety with the only songs being made being formal sounding classical and jazz or on rare occasions, Duran/Katolian jig music. "What kind of music is this and what are they singing about?" Callum asked Rayla.

"Its elven folk music and they're singing a song adapted from a classic Xadian folktale about escaping from a bad situation to pursue your dreams", Rayla said, "if we don't keep moving and Viren takes over Katolis, this kind of music will go away so we really shouldn't be standing here watching."

"Your right", said Callum, "we have to keep moving." Rayla lead them over to a building that stood right next to the square. Next to the door was a barely visible moonbeam that shot into the sky. In front of the beam was a sign stating, "Mid City Square Station. Sliver-Blue line, outbound to palace hill. Next carrier in 1 minute."

"Rayla", Ezran said, "remember about the nausea prevention spell."

"Yeah, I remember", said Rayla. She drew a symbol in the air.

"_Equalibria Permenancy", _she said, pointing to Ezran and Callum.

"Thanks", said Ezran. Zym whined.

"No", Ezran said to Zym, "she didn't need to use it on you. Your a magical creature so you can handle the speed without the same problems we have." Baits color changed to green as he made an unhappy grumbling noise. "I know", he said, "I'm not giving you enough attention and I promise, when we return Zym, that's going to change." At that moment, one of the glass boxes moved down the beam of moonlight and came to a stop in front of them. One of the walls momentarily vanished, allowing Rayla, Callum and Ezran to step inside.

The inside of the box was completely empty with the exception of a screen attached to the glass. On the screen, Callum could see the words, "Next Stop: Palace Hill. Speed. 100 MpH. Moving In 30 Seconds." White foot shaped objects shot from the floor, binding Callum, Ezran and Rayla's feet. The screen finished its countdown and the box started to move.

Authors Note: _Please Review _


	12. Chapter 12

The ride to palace hill only took a few minutes. During that time, Callum looked out through the glass walls of the transport box, admiring the beauty and strangeness of the capital city of Xadia. Brightly colored phoenix-like birds soared through the sky alongside the occasional Skywing elf. Bridges and platforms connected the upper floors of the towering buildings, forming an entire sky level that stretched across the city. He could see elves walking across this sky level and entering small stores, houses and markets which stood on the platforms. His enjoyment of the scenery was interrupted when the glass box that he stood in shot higher into the air before continuing to move, now over a small forest that stood in front of palace hill. The box slowed down and came to a stop at the top of the long staircase that stretched from the presidential palace to the bottom of the hill. Callum, Ezran, Rayla and Zym stepped out of the glass box and approached the palace.

"Is the president just going to let us walk in and talk to her without any kind of advance warning?", asked Callum.

"Yes", said Rayla,"as a former assassin working for the dragon queen, I'm able to access the president whenever I want."

"Really?", asked Ezran.

"No", said Rayla, "most of the time, she doesn't let anyone talk to her, especially those who burst in without an appointment. Let's just hope we don't get arrested before we get the chance to explain ourselves."

"This is a terrible plan", muttered Ezran as they approached the doric columns that stood at the foot of the entrance of the palace. Rayla chanted a spell to open the door and they walked in. They were standing in a massive oval shaped room. At the back of the room, twelve thrones sat in a semi circle around a massive map of Xadia that hovered over a circular device. Behind the thrones stood a wall and a set of double doors. The ceiling and left and right walls of the room were transparent, revealing the beauty of the Xadian skies.

On four of the thrones sat moonshadow, sunfire and skywing elves, engaged in conversation. Upon noticing the new arrivals, the elf sitting in the most ornate throne got up. She was dressed in ornate multi-colored robes that covered her entire body. Her horns were adorned with circles of gold and pieces of jewelry. She wore no crown but she was beautiful in such a regal and intense way that Callum automatically assumed that she held the most power.

"How are you still alive?", she asked Rayla, "I thought all the assassins failed in their mission and got killed."

"I had my own separate mission so I wasn't actually with the other assassins", said Rayla, neglecting to say that her "separate mission" was the same one as the other assassins, and that she was working alone since she was ordered to leave the group and go home.

"That's fortunate", said the regal looking elf, "the loss of multiple loyal soldiers of Xadia to the vile monsters that we call humans weighed on me. Some of that weight is lifted, knowing that one elf survived even though the loss of the dragon king and prince still makes my presidency a complete disaster."

"Not all humans are vile", said Rayla.

"That's true,'' said the elf, "I assume that some of them must be good people. But they were kicked out of Xadia for a good reason."

"Wait a minute", Callum said, "you're president Sundimater?"

"Yes", said the elf, "who are you?"

"_Veritie, revele!" _Rayla shouted, drawing a symbol in the air. Instantly, the glamour covering Callum, Ezran and Zym broke.

"I am prince Ezran of Katolis", Ezran said, "I am here with prince Callum, second in line to the throne and we've brought someone that you really need to see." Ezran held up Zym, showing him to Sundimater.

She and the elf's sitting on their thrones gasped. "Is that-?"

"Yes", said Rayla, "this is the Dragon Prince, returned to you by the two descendents of King Harrow. Two humans who risked everything to set things right. We are hoping that this gesture will be enough to stop the war."

"I certainly hope it will be '', said president Sundimater, "come along. I will bring you to Zubeia." She led Callum, Ezran and Rayla to the double doors that stood in the far end of the room. Sundimater whispered an incantation and the doors opened to reveal a winding path that lead up toward a massive opening in the side of a mountain. Zym yipped excitedly upon recognizing his home.

"Follow me", said Sundimater. She led the group up the path and through the cave opening. The inside of Zubeias home looked much more simple and straightforward than Callum expected. Dark blue textures covered the walls. Next to one of those walls sat two enormous bowls full of food that Callum couldn't recognize. Bright stones lined the ceiling, casting light onto the room. In the center of it all stood a massive throne and on that throne sat a fifteen foot long, regal looking dragon who wore the same stone circle that Sol Regem wore that officially marked her as the queen of the dragons and elves of Xadia.

Sundimater knelt and she gestured at Callum, Ezran and Rayla to do the same. "Rise president of Xadia and..wait. Why have you brought humans into my presence? You are aware that it's illegal for them to be in this land?" asked Zubeia.

"Show them", said Sunimater as they got up. Ezran stepped forward and held out the baby dragon who jumped from his arms and ran toward his mother. To call Zubeia shocked would be an enormous understatement. She looked like she might faint.

"My son" she whispered "is it really you?"

"It is", said Ezran, "as a gesture of peace, we return what was once taken from you. I am prince Ezran, first in line for the throne of Katolis and on behalf of the human kingdoms, I apologize for the anguish we have caused you. Since the Dragon Prince has been safely returned to you, I ask for you to call off the war."

"How was that?", he whispered to Callum, "I've been practicing for three days."

"Good", said Callum, "let's just see if you were convincing enough." Before the Dragon Queen could say anything, one of the elves from the throne room ran into the cave.

"Madame president", he said, addressing Sundimater, "there's something you need to see."

Authors Note: Please review!


	13. Chapter 13

"Come with me", said Sundimater. She, the humans and Rayla followed the elf to the holographic map which hovered in the middle of the throne room. The elf pointed at a mass of human shaped silhouettes who were slowly approaching the border wall. Sundimater gasped before turning angrily to Rayla and the humans.

"You have tricked me", president Sundimater said, "you have used the dragon prince to attempt to distract me from the army of humans that you have brought with you to conquer Xadia."

"That's not true", said Rayla.

"I wouldn't expect to hear anything different from a HJW like yourself", Sundimater snapped. The insult hit Rayla like a punch to the gut. An HJW was the worst thing an elf could be called. To be called HJW was a method of accusing someone of having an irrational obsession with making life better for humans to the point that you end up siding against your own species. It's an accusation of being delusional, insane and not worth taken seriously. She wasn't pushed down for long though.

"Yes", said Rayla, "I am an HJW. But that doesn't mean i'm a liar. Ask the dragon queen, she'll vouch for me." Sundimater considered this for a moment. She nodded and walked through the doors of her palace. A minute later, she was back.

"Zubeia says that you are telling the truth", said Sundimater, "I apologize for insulting you and doubting you. Callum and Ezran, I apologize for what I said about humans earlier and I appreciate what you have done but you haven't prevented war. These humans are about to attack and we need to act quickly and decisively to protect our home at any cost."

"So, what your saying is that we came all the way here for nothing?" Callum asked.

"Not for nothing", said Sundimater, "if Xadia makes it through the war victorious, I can arrange for you and Ezran to be rewarded for what you've done. But that may not be for a long time since wars can last for years. They are rarely kept to one battle." She closed her eyes and started to chant. As she chanted, she drew small symbols in the air with her hands.

"What's she doing?", Callum asked Rayla.

"She's activating the enchantment that transports all citizens who aren't part of the Xadian military to safety", Rayla said, "since i'm technically an assassin, it's not gonna affect me." Sundimater spoke the last words of her spell and spread her hands. A wave of energy shot across the palace and washed over Xadia.

"Since you brought back the dragon prince. I will allow you and Rayla to take shelter in one of the underground rooms in my palace", Sundimater said to Callum.

"I want to help", said Callum.

"Human", said Sundimater, "I have three words for you. _Don't..Push..It._ I've already broken our laws multiple times today by allowing you to remain here, to meet with the queen of the dragons and to stay in my palace. Don't try and ask for additional favors."

"But-" Callum started to say.

"Callum", said Ezran, "don't."

"Rayla, I will require your assistance", said Sundimater, "you must go to the border and fight alongside the dragonguard." Raylas eyes widened.

"Are you serious?", she asked.

"Yes", Sundimater said, "you have more then proven yourself." Callum felt a wave of nerves wash over him.

"Rayla" Callum said "you really don't have to do this."

"I kind of do", said Rayla, "I'm sorry." She walked up to Callum and hugged him.

"I promise I'll make it out alive", said Rayla. That was the last thing Callum and Ezran heard her say before the room around them faded and got replaced by a long hallway. Doors lined both walls and a dim light emanated from the ceiling. Callum and Ezran walked through the only open door and into a large bedroom. Two massive beds stood on one side of the room, over which hung a painting of a startouch elf. On the other side of the room stood two bookcases, a small vortex of swirling magic that hovered in mid-air and a cabinet.

"So, what do we do now?", Ezran asked, "sleep?"

"I don't think I'm gonna be able to Ez", said Callum, "I'm too worried about Rayla. I need to do something to help."

"You don't have a weapon though", said Ezran.

"I'm gonna connect myself to the sky arcanum", said Callum, "I'm not gonna need one."


End file.
